Bulletproof by Melissa Pearl

Blurb:Morgan Pritchett doesn’t need anyone. Strong-willed and confident, she’s the master of organizing and looking after everyone around her. In her mind, she’s bulletproof.

But she has one weakness – men. She can’t seem to live without them, yet is unable to find her perfect match. After yet another break up, Morgan promises her sister and best friend that she’ll write off men for the rest of the year…but then she meets Sean Jaxon.

Sean Jaxon has worked hard to become a Hollywood actor, scoring minor roles and slowly making a name for himself as an action sidekick. After a chance encounter with the stunning Morgan Pritchett, he decides to take a risk and put his dancing skills to the test by signing on for the lead role in Superstar, a TV musical. He never thought he’d reconnect with the girl who urged him to ignore his manager and be honest with himself, but when Morgan shows up on the set as a production assistant, he realizes he’s found his ultimate weakness – her.

Their passion for dance and music will bring them together, but will their relationship be able to withstand the forces determined to pull them apart? As Morgan comes face-to-face with her long-buried demons and Sean decides just how much he’s willing to risk for love, these two songbirds discover something…they’re not as bulletproof as they thought.

My Review:
4.5 stars — OMG, I was sucked into this one right from the start. I had just finished trying to read a different book and was super frustrated and cranky, so even though it was after midnight I knew I needed a different taste in my mouth in order to fall asleep, so I started Bulletproof. MISTAKE! Then began an endless stream of “just one more chapter, just one more chapter.” GAH! And while my tired eyes failed me and I only got a few hours in, I gobbled the rest of the book up the next day.

Morgan intrigued the heck out of me in Fever. She was this strong, forthright girl who seemed very confident in everything she did. And she honestly was everything I thought she was, but she was also more. She is honestly one of the most unique heroines I’ve read. She was vulnerable in a way I don’t think I read about a lot. We really get a great glimpse into what has made her into the girl she is today, someone who honestly feels as though they have to be “bulletproof”, has to contain their emotions, and who went from having responsibility thrust upon them too young to not being able to function without taking charge. She was so conflicted within herself, so damaged, but so determined that that was her lot in life. I also enjoyed that she was a very sexual girl who truly enjoyed sex, but also used it as a means of feeling self-worth. Because I honestly think that a girl can be both of those things; so often we see the damage, and it makes it seem as though a girl can’t enjoy sex. I wish she’d had a smoother road on that one, but then it wouldn’t be Morgan you know? She really had a crazy journey to go on, and my heart ached for her. She made some very poor choices in this book at times, but that just made her more real I guess. I think her one choice near the end would have turned me off in any other book, but for some reason I was ok with how Morgan got to that point. It fit her character, as much as it pains me to say that. She was flawed. And maybe she needed to hit that point in order to wake up and confront her demons.

Wow, sorry, that got long. All that to say, while I really am nothing like Morgan, I really loved her in the end, despite all her flaws. And as a fellow tall girl, I LOVED having a tall girl as a heroine. We have our own unique challenges, and I loved that she wasn’t self-conscious about it. I also loved that she was a dancer, and a great one, because so often dancers are always petite. Nicely done Ms. Pearl.

And then we get to Sean. Damn, but he had his own flaws too. I feel like again, as in Fever, I felt more for the heroine’s journey than the hero’s. He did have his own journey to go on, but I felt like we didn’t get to dive quite as deep with him. I loved that we got to see him struggle with his poor upbringing, and that he was easily swayed and influenced about his own worth in the industry. It shows that while he may look confident to the outside world, he is struggling to believe in himself as well. He disappointed me as well, but like with Morgan, I kind of understood why he made certain poor choices. He had his own journey to go on, to grow and come into his own.

And I ADORED their courtship. I loved that circumstances meant they actually were forced to go slow and get to know each other. I LOVED how nervous Sean was, but how instantly drawn to Morgan he was. And holy cow, their chemistry!! Seriously, reading about them dancing was just hot (even if I couldn’t always picture the moves that were described)! But yeah, you could really feel what drew them together, and while there was a strong physical attraction component, I felt their connection in other ways too.

I can’t decide how I feel about Rhonda and Travis. It’s not that I don’t honestly believe there are people out there like that, but occasionally they felt a little over the top. I believed Rhonda a bit more, but with Travis, I couldn’t help but wonder why no one else wanted to intervene.

I LOVED seeing Ella and Cole happy together. I’m very intrigued about Jody’s story, and I appreciated how Morgan had to deal with stepping back from her usual Mother role as well. And I LOVED Isabella, for both Sean and Morgan!! I also loved the advice that Morgan got from Grandma Deb, and Sean got from his Mom.

So yeah. Definitely a hit. This book may have had its moments that broke my heart, made me cringe for the characters, but I think that made the end of the journey that much more satisfying!